The study found that more than 56% of people infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 were unaware of their infection. This is the conclusion of the study published on August 17 at the JAMA Network Open. Omicron affects relatively mild or no symptoms in people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. While this is good news, it’s important to note that the virus can spread unintentionally.
Director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging at Cedars-Sinai Schmidt Heart Institute, Dr. Susan Cheng and colleagues at the Abbott Laboratories in Los Angeles, California, concluded a study of 210 employees and patients at the Cedars-Sinai Schmidt Heart Institute.
Their blood samples were collected before and after Omicron for antibody testing. The researchers came to the conclusion by analyzing the amount of antibodies against the corona virus in these blood samples.
Most of the people in the study were vaccinated. The researchers tested two types of antibodies. Antibodies produced by vaccines and antibodies produced after exposure to a virus.
At the start of the study, all volunteers had antibodies to the infection below a certain threshold. This indicates that the virus has not been infected recently. Later it becomes clear that the increased antibody levels are due to infection. Participants completed health surveys describing disease symptoms and PCR testing to determine whether they had been infected with Covid-19 during the study period.
56% of people who test positive for PCR do not know they are infected. Having no symptoms of COVID-19, or experiencing only mild symptoms such as a cold or allergies. This study supports earlier studies that show that 25 to 40 percent of SARS-CoV-2 infections are asymptomatic. At the same time, it also complicates efforts to contain the disease.